Rudi wrote: And I need sliding barn door hardware and the track. I remember seeing it at Princess last year ... seemed to be a stock item. Will have to check the Co-Op too I guess. I can't even remember what the stuff is actually called. All I know is that it uses a rectangular steel tube or inverted C-Channel.. has dolly wheels up top with levellers and guide wheels on the bottom that runs against the building... I want to build on 8 foot x 9 foot sliding door...
Have I got a deal for you! I needed to hang some panels in the shop for tools. The panels are 4'x8' 3/4' Ply and each probably has 200~300 pounds of tools hanging on. The panels hang from an overhead rail system and the rollers are inline skate wheels. The rails are 1" angle iron turned so they look like a "V" when seen end on. There are 2 rails 10" apart. I cut pieces of 1" square tubing 10" long with a 45 degree on each end. The cross pieces are welded every 4' and have a strap that extends from the center of the cross piece up to rafters. The rails hang below the rafters about 5". The skate wheels ride in the angle iron groove. The bracket connecting the skate wheels to the panels looks kinda' like a question mark. This allows the panels to hang straight down. If you need to support more weight add more wheels and put the crosspieces closer together.
But the neat trick for a sliding door is to have the rails angle away from the door opening. Imagine when the door is closed, the rail is 3" from the front of the building. Make each support a little longer as you move towards the "door open" end of the rail so that by the end the rail is 6" from the building. As you push the door open it moves away from the front of the building. The secret to success is to have the door flat to the building, not aligned with the rail. This way when the closes, it is tight on all 4 sides. Having an offset rail means no dragging seal, and a much better chance that you can actually get a good seal on the door.
I used this technique when I built my smelting furnace. The lid is 24"x36" of firebrick in a metal frame. Using the offset rails, I can move the lid easily but not tear up the high temp insulating rope used as the seal.
Rick (Shade Tree novice) Dulas